Plot #2

After I've thought about what my plot will entail and come up with a couple scenes in my head I like to refer back to honestly one of the most awesome books on writing craft, Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. I'm not going to explain anything, just tell you what i use. I would seriously recommend this book to anyone who has some problems really narrowing down not only what plot is, but also how to 'plot'. Im one of those people who needs things drilled into their head a million times and lots of examples before I really get it and Story Engineering really does that. So here are a list of scenes and sequences that I'm going to figure out before I start writing

Opening Scene
Hooking Moment
Inciting Incident
First Plot point
First Pinch point
Context shifting midpoint
Second pinch point 
Second plot point
Final resolution sequence


The sentence-- I'm not quite happy with it but honestly i could keep re-writing this thing forever, but the truth is that everything could change between now and the end of Nano.

Hunted by loan-sharks, Naida realizes the only place to hide is with the creatures she blames for her parent's deaths-- werewolves. Forced to marry the Alpha in exchange for asylum for her family, the only way to offset her insurmountable debt is to finish what her parents started and find the formula to the wolves potent drug before she meets the same fate as her parents.

Character

Character.

It's pretty much the whole reason why people write and read books. If you create completely rounded character that people can relate to and in some way see themselves in ( or at least who they want to be ), then people will read your books. They will fall in love with your characters. And that's what  keeps them coming back. At least it's what keeps me coming back to writers and their new books, more-so than the plots of new books. If I've read a book by an author, and I've fallen in love with the characters and fell into the plot, odds are pretty high that i will return to read their other works. I'm even more inclined to read something out of my comfort zone if they've had awesome books before.

So here's what I know about my two main characters:
Naida -
17 years old
Born in Nashville, Tennessee
Parents [Mikel and Whitney] were killed when she was young (10)
Sent to live with her uncle at 9.
She tends to her uncle's "girls", getting anything they need and basically taking care of them.

Samuel -
25 years old
Born in the *Outskirts [ Kairi nation ]
Parents are both dead, his father very recently.
Alpha by blood-- and by fight. The 5th alpha of his name.

And here's what I need to know:
Sam's
Relationship with -
     The Twins [
     His pack - He's trusted and obeyed without hesitation because it's just the nature of the relationship of Alpha and pack. It's a lot of weight on his shoulders.
     The Elders [the remaining pack that used to he headed by his father]
     Naida - On principle he doesn't like humans. He never has. It's not that he's blindly judgmental but he's actually spent time across the border he just can't fathom why
     His brothers [Benjamin, Joshua, Andrew, Elijah, Micah]
       Benjamin [after his sister's suicide] Constantly challenged by Ben. He's always having to put him in his place, much more frequently than he would like. Ben hates him because of his sister, but is forced to respect and obey him.
       Joshua [after his mating to Cala] he feels separated from his second, like he can't talk to him about anything anymore because of his affiliation with Cala.
       Andrew - The oldest of his wolves, a remainder from his father's Brothers. He is critical of the way that Sam does things, since they're different than his father's way.
       Elijah - He really just runs under the radar. Barely ever noticed. He always seems to be doing what needs to be done without anyone having to ask him. He's dependable. 
       Micah - The newest, and youngest. He needs the most direction.
     Cala - (his ex) He doesn't like her, never really has. But it's worse now because she still pursues him though she is mated to his best friend.


Naida's
Relationship with -
     The "girls" (Aleksander's prostitutes) [Isla, Cruz, Kiona]
       Isla - The girly girl. She loves makeup and pretty clothes and is always urging Naida to 'try' a little harder. 
       Cruz - Is the Protector. She's always there to stand up for someone else. She see's Naida as her little sister and fiercely protects her. She's been hurt and doesn't want to see it happen to anyone else. 
       Kiona - pretty indifferent  They don't really have very much of a relationship. mostly Kiona just keeps to herself but doesn't let anyone bother Naida. 
     Sasha [Naida's Uncle Aleksander] - He loves her. Deeply. Sometimes she thinks that she is the only thing that he loves or respects. He's always protected her and made sure that though the harsh reality of their lives are inescapable, that she never has to 'get dirty'. She basically sees him as her father, as she really hardly remembers her parents.
     Sam - At first sight she's afraid of him. From what everyone says about the wolves they're savage and just a bit more civilized than animals. She's almost disgusted by him.
     The Brothers - Pretty much the same as she feels about Sam, but she can see the need for them.
     The Kairi as a whole - They see her as every human that's ever wronged them. They don't like her and they make it clear. She is given a wide birth, no one wants to associate with her.
     Viktor - [the guy Sasha owes money to.] She likes him. She's had a crush on him for a very long time, until she finds out that Sasha owes him a lot of money. He's always been pleasant, if not openly friendly toward her.


And a list of all supporting characters:
Benjamin, Joshua, Andrew, Elijah, Micah, Cala
Isla, Cruz, Kiona, Sasha(Aleksander), Viktor


currently listening to : Elastic Heart - Sia feat The Weeknd & Diplo [Catching Fire OST]

Plot

So, today is Day 1(It's not really day 1 this post was not saved and almost everything was lost) of my serious Nano Prep overhaul. I've been thinking about this story and getting things together in my head all year, but of course nothing was concrete. I never really gave it more than just a passing thought and it shows.

I'm going to start Plot. I'll admit it's always been one of my weak points. Not necessarily conflict in it's basest sense, but the overall Story Problem. I'd spend hours, days, months writing thousands of words to a project only to stall before the middle because there was no real Problem. The big thing that needed to be solved before the end of the story was always missing. So this year in my quest to write as close to a complete first draft of *Thirst as possible I'm determined to go in with a plan. 

What I need to know:
Antagonist - MFC's uncle Sasha
Inciting Incident - MFC is sold in exchange for asylum.
Story Problem - In exchange for her life and the lives of her family, MFC must find the formula to the wolves' drug before her uncle's debtors find them. ( This needs reworking...)
Conflict -  MFC vs MMC, MFC's family vs Wolves, Wolves vs other Wolves, MFC vs Sasha
Turning Points -
Darkest Moment - MFC's betrayal, Sasha's Betrayal
Solution -
Resolution -

I'll update this as I figure out more...

*The title of my 2013 Nano novel.

It's what?

So, I can't believe it's almost that time already. I feel like this year has passed so quickly and i'm constantly trying to grab hold of anything that I can to make it slow down, even if it's just a little bit. Nanowrimo is what...16 days away and I feel grossly under-prepaired. I won't say unprepared because I have a rough idea of what i would like to write this year, but I'm nowhere close to where I need to be.

The characters are still blurry-so much that i can't even tell what they look like. The world is unfamiliar (I always seem to want to write about things that I know absolutely nothing about.) And the rules. Oh the rules. I have no idea. There are no rules. Now usually that would be a good thing, but when creating a different culture from your own, and especially creating one with supernatural elements, rules are MANDATORY. I mean, how else are your readers going to know when you break them?

Anyway, I logged into my NaNoWriMo account for the first time in a long time today and realized that I need to really get my head in the game. The amount of work I have to do before NaNo start is actually quite daunting. But exciting! 

Let's start the countdown!

Nano Prep - Step 1

Step 1 is all about figuring out what you know and you need to know. In my case there is much more that I need to know than what I actually know. As always, I have a long way to go before November and not a lot of time to get there.

Okay here's what I know about Thirst (This is the first time I've actually had a potential title before the end of November! Yay me.)

What I do know:
Concept
Main characters - Though I don't know too much about them.
Main Conflict
Antagonist

What I need to know:
Relationships
Sub-conflicts (Is this even a thing? It is to me.)
Supporting Characters
Terrain-- for both cultures
Main Character's Choices -- Consequences
Resolution
Culture - One for MFC, one for MMC
Character Arcs - MFC, MMC, Ant.
Goals for Main Characters
What I want to write
I want mountains--Huge green trees and nature. Real nature, wild and beautiful.
Addiction- and the harsh reality/consequences
Reluctant Love- It's not fun if there's no falling in love.
Different definitions of family

Tomorrow the work starts. I'll update this page as I go along.